UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in January have dropped by ?15-20 ($19-26) per tonne, depending on grade, due to persistent weakness in export prices to the key destination of Turkey, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 18.
The move followed a uniform price drop of ?20 per tonne in December settlements, after a rollover for two consecutive months.European export prices to traditional markets such as Turkey and India have been on a downward trend since UK consumer prices were settled in early December. Still, those export price losses have stopped recently and appear to be stabilizing, which should give some support to British prices if that situation holds in the near future, industry sources said.Prices of trend-indicating grades in the UK such as HMS 1&2 (old steel) and OA (plate and structural) were ?120-145 ($155-187) and ?140-165 per tonne delivered respectively on January 18."We wanted more [of a reduction] off the monthly delivery price, but there was a small increase in European scrap export prices in recent days, so we settled where we did in case that demand becomes stronger," one UK steelmaker told Fastmarkets."In general, things...